Federal agency pushes back at Barnaby Joyce's environmental water grab

By Peter Hannam

August 29, 2018 — 10.35am

The federal agency in charge of environmental water purchases has rejected calls by the Morrison government's special drought envoy Barnaby Joyce to divert flows to help graziers hit by the big dry.

The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, which holds about $4 billion worth of water secured to protect the health of river systems, told Fairfax Media "a number of state and federal members of Parliament along with peak irrigation groups" had asked it to investigate options to help irrigators finish winter fodder crops.

Go with the flow: The Murray River near its juncture with the Goulburn River earlier this year.

Photo: Peter Hannam

However, the agency said it was obliged under the 2007 federal Water Act "to use the water first and foremost to get benefits for the environment", adding its water "was purchased by the taxpayer for the sole purpose of protecting and restoring the environmental assets of the [Murray-Darling] Basin".

"Water for the environment managed by the [agency] is supporting the health and survival of critical habitats and important native species across the Murray-Darling Basin," it said.

"It is also fundamentally important to supporting basin communities and enabling the continued use of the basin's resources."

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The comments follow calls by Mr Joyce on Tuesday for the federal government and states such as NSW to release water to lucerne growers so that struggling farmers could get feed for their starving stock.

The water holder echoed a statement by Phillip Glyde, chief executive of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, that noted ample water was available from irrigator holdings within the storages.

For instance, environmental water entitlements account for just 8 per cent of water in NSW's water storages in the basin, and about 13 per cent in Victoria, Mr Glyde said.

"There is a functioning water market in place, and there is water now available on the market for purchase," the water holder said.

The NSW government announced this week it would release 15,000 megalitres of environmental water onto the market, with sales going to help drought-affected regions.

Environmental water is not up for grabs, the federal agency handling such water says.

Photo: Nick Moir

Mr Joyce said the NSW contribution was less than half the size of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, and more should be released.

In response to Mr Joyce's call, new federal Environment Minister Melissa Price told Fairfax Media: "The current demand for Commonwealth environmental water in most valleys exceeds the supply, and so most of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder's available water for this year has been committed to meet environmental needs."

Ms Price noted a decision announced by the agency's head Jody Swirepik on Tuesday to release 20,000 megalitres of water in Victoria's Goulburn Valley.

"Careful management of environmental water over a number of years has allowed the Environmental Water Holder to release this water while meeting [Ms Swirepik's] legal obligations in the Goulburn Valley," Ms Price said.

She added that while the water holder would "explore options to trade water where possible, [it] must be certain that trade is not detracting from environmental outcomes".

Ms Swirepik's predecessor David Papps was also critical of Mr Joyce's plans, telling Fairfax Media that they would amount to a "death certificate" for major ecosystems such as the Macquarie Marshes and the Narran Lakes, and would also breach the Water Act.

Others have noted that it would be impossible to ensure any water releases would be snapped up by fodder growers and not by major cotton or nut farm irrigators - a view supported by the Water Holders.

"As the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder uses an open tender process to trade water, there is no mechanism to decide how water purchased on the open market would be used," the agency told Fairfax Media.